SADHANA & UPASANA ( PRACTICE & WORSHIP ) | If you try to understand the unmanifested with the mind , you at once go beyond the mind ; it is like when you stir the fire with a wooden stick — you burn the stick . Use the mind to investigate the manifested . Be like the chick that pecks at the shell . Speculating about life outside the shell would have been of little use to it , but pecking at the shell breaks the shell from within and liberates the chick . Similarly , break the mind from within by investigation and exposure of its contradictions and absurdities . ~ Sri Nisargadatta

The suggestion of a particular kind of Yoga that is made by the Mandukya Upanishad is the recitation of Pranava or Omkara . It has a simple way , a very easy means of meditation to tell us , not complicated ― the recitation of Pranava .

OM is the Pranava or the Omkar which is a blend of three syllables , letters ― A , U , M . A-U-M becomes OM . When we chant OM , when we articulate the vocal organ in the recitation of OM , all the parts of the vocal organ act simultaneously in such a way that they may be supposed to be uttering every letter at that time . All language is supposed to be included in OM because of this reason . All the articulatory process takes place in the recitation of OM , if we can properly observe it .

The Visva , as I mentioned , is the name given to the waking consciousness . Dreaming consciousness is called Taijasa , sleeping consciousness is called Prajna . The transcendental consciousness is the Atman . So , Visva , Taijasa , Prajna and Atman are the designations of the very same consciousness involved in the physical body and physical sensations , involved in dream perception , involved in sleep , and not involved in anything . In a way , the letters of the Mantra OM ― A , U , M ― are identified by the Mandukya Upanishad with these three states ; A is waking , U is dreaming , M is sleeping and OM is Atman .

"OM is the name of the Ultimate Reality " , says Patanjali in the Sutra . The name of GOD is OM ― It has no other name .

As GOD is all-pervading , Its name also should be all-inclusive . We do not call It ka ka , ga ga , abcd . It is an inarticulate universalised vibration . It is not actually a letter or a word , but a vibration .

OM is to be chanted for the sake of the removal of this dross accumulated in our psyche in the form of impressions of past Karmas .

Merge waking in dream , merge dream in sleep and merge sleep in the Atman . Draw the consciousness gradually from waking to dream ― that is to say , draw it from the waking body consciousness to the psychological consciousness , and from that to the sleep consciousness .

How do we do this ?

In the beginning we have to be seated in a suitable posture and slowly articulate this beautiful name of GOD , which is OM or Pranav .

The scripture says that , in the beginning , the Vedas did not exist . In the Krita Yuga , the golden age as we call it , the Vedas did not exist ; only Pranava existed . That religion was not Hinduism , Christianity , etc .

Hamsa was the name of the religion of Krita Yuga . Hamsa means just love of GOD . It is not love through some " ism " ― this community or that community ― no communities existed in Krita Yuga . It was total human loving total GOD , and OM was considered as inclusive of all the three Vedas .

From Akara , Ukara and Makara , Prajapati is supposed to have extracted the Rig Veda , Yajur Veda and Sama Veda . The three Padas of the Gayatri Mantra are supposed to be extractions of the three Vedas , and are also supposed to be embedded in A-U-M , so that all the Veda is inside OM ― all three Vedas .

To practice this meditation according to the Mandukya Upanishad , be seated properly , without distractions , and chant

When you recite OM like this , dont you feel a sense of satisfaction inside ? In a few seconds you will feel the difference . You feel as if you are a different person altogether . You are not the same body ; you were not even aware of that body for two seconds . It was melting , as it were , gradually melting .

Every day practice this chant for fifteen minutes , in the morning and in the evening . You will feel as if the body is melting . Actually , physically , it may not melt ; the sensation of melting may arise on account of the withdrawal of consciousness from the body . It will withdraw itself from even the mind , and it will withdraw itself from even your personality consciousness .

By the chant of OM only you can enter into the bliss of the Atman , is the teaching of the Mandukya Upanishad . All Yogas are combined in this .

So do this practice yourself when you are alone somewhere , under the tree , or at the Ganga , or at the temple , or in your room ― wherever you are .

Sit for a few minutes and chant in the same way as I told you , with a sonorous sound , beautifully , calmly , creating an equilibrated vibration in your personality . You will forget all your worries ; you will feel happy inside . You will feel a tingling sensation in the body , as if the consciousness is slowly getting withdrawn from body .

This is the practice of the Yoga of the Mandukya Upanishad . GOD bless you .

The essence of the Buddha's teachings can be summed up in two principles : The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path . The first covers the side of doctrine , and the primary response it elicits is understanding

" Hammer on ! hammer on ! " is the first principle of success . Without work you can never succeed . A lazy person is bound to perish in the " struggle for existence " , one cannot live , one must die .

Rise to the GOD-Consciousness to such a degree that for you your past relations may become a complete blank . . . Your relation to the world should become the relation of GOD to the world ; an entire change .

From one point of view , mind and intellect are not Brahman ; but on the other hand , mind and intellect are nothing else but Brahman , even the body is nothing else but Brahman , and Everything in the world is nothing else but Brahman .

Can you transfer your consciousness ? Put it here , your consciousness should sit here . Can it sit here ? Now it is inside your body . It is operating through the body and you are seeing through the aperture of your eyes and then perceiving a person like me here .

Immanuel Kant is said to have been woken up by Hume from " dogmatic slumber " and brought about a " Copernican revolution " in the field of philosophy . In Kant we begin to reap the ripe fruits of philosophy , for it is here that it shows signs of its having reached maturity and full development .

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PRABODHASUDHAKARA | THE NECTAR OCEAN OF ENLIGHTENMENT | PART 2 | DEVOTION | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA | TRANSLATION & BHASYA BY SAMVID | PSNOE SERIES || The devotional fervour which the author exhibits in the four concluding sections of this work would appear to be in sharp contrast with the author's relentless pursuit of truth through rational enquiry , found in the earlier sections .

I am composing the Atmabodha , or Self-Knowledge , to serve the needs of those who have been purified through the practice of austerities, and who are peaceful in heart , free from cravings , and desirous of Liberation .

One who has one's mind Self-absorbed through Yoga , and who has the vision of sameness everywhere , sees this Self existing in everything , and everything in one's Self . | One who sees Me in everything , and sees all things in Me — I do not go out of one's vision , and one also is not lost to My vision .

Some minds with too much self reliance in themselves , and without considering the true nature of things , give them different forms and colours , according to their own conceptions and opinions , though far from truth .

VOL 1 | BOOK II | CHAP XVII | VERSE 10 | ON THE CONTENTS OF THE WORK | IT CONTAINS SIX BOOKS all fraught with sentences full of reason , and each distinct from the other in its import . It has many verses containing chosen examples on all subjects .

DANGEROUS HABIT OF CONSTANT SELF JUSTIFICATION | To go on claiming this so-called freedom , which is no more than a subjection to certain ignorant cosmic forces , is to indulge in a blind contradiction and to claim the right to lead a double life

Imagination in the mind always exaggerates . Exaggeration is a modification of lie . Aspirants should not exaggerate . They should utter words with mathematical and scientific precision . An aspirant is asked to give up company and observe Mouna .

MahaBhava is a Divine Ecstasy . It shakes the body and mind to their very foundation . It is like a huge elephant entering a small hut . The house shakes to its foundation . Perhaps it falls to pieces .

Athato bhaktim vyakhyasyamah | 1. Now , therefore , we shall teach Bhakti , or the Religion of Divine Love . 2. Now , therefore , I will try to explain the process of devotional service . 3. Now , therefore , the doctrine of devotion we shall expound .

Rama has written in simple language , the ordinary thoughts and ideas that satisfy the mind and show the Divine Vision to the writer both within and without . The whole world shining like the diamond is becoming the Divine Ocean .

OM! In Humans , The Past exists only in memory , which is retention , replaying , reconfiguration of stories , fantasies , fiction ; The Future is expectation and fantasy : These thoughts play in The Present , creating a false sense of continuity of personality — Nothing but DREAMING it is .|| SSSV 32.3 ||